All the Happy Children
by BiblioMatsuri
Summary: A series of BE oneshots. Genres only apply to latest chapter. May contain crack. Now Posted: Nighttime Wandering. Rin doesn't always sleep well these days.
1. An Attempted Late-Night Snack

Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist.

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An Attempted Late-Night Snack

Konekomaru hummed cheerfully as he dug into his rice and vegetables. (Yes, it was boring, but the school cafeteria was stupidly expensive, convenience store lunches got old and he was not a gourmet chef, darn it!) Today had been nice and quiet, unless you counted Bon and Okumura nearly getting into a fistfight during a lecture on subclassifications of water demons, which was really getting to be background activity by now. He knew he should probably be worried about that, but it wasn't as though Okumura would really hurt him. (At least, not when he was remotely in his right mind. Konekomaru refused to think about that possibility until it actually came true, on the grounds that he wanted to be able to look Okumura in the eye without screaming in terror, passing out, or something even more embarrassing.)

Anyways, today was a good day, and it looked like tomorrow was going to be just as nice.

Out of nowhere, desperate laughter echoed through the room as a disheveled figure burst through the doors into the boys' dorm cafeteria. Konekomaru froze as he reached for his notes and the staff he'd hidden under the seat in case of just such an eventuality.

The figure stopped laughing, and then moaned, "Ow, my ribs hurt."

…Wait, was that Okumura?

The blue-haired boy rubbed his sides, grimacing at the slight ache that was putting a damper on his fun. "That just figures. I finally put one over on that prissy bastard, and I hurt myself laughing. Can't I do anything right?"

Konekomaru sighed a bit. "Okumura-san, what did you do?"

Rin jumped, landing in what was probably supposed to be a martial arts stance, but to anyone who had actually had martial arts training (such as Konekomaru), just came out looking like he'd watched too many bad kung-fu movies. Then he straightened out of it and rubbed his head sheepishly. "Hey, Konekomaru?"

"Yes, Okumura-san?"

"Can I, um…"

"…What?" Konekomaru was now officially concerned. It wasn't like the elder Okumura to be so quiet and polite.

"Can I hide here from Yukio, just for a bit?"

At this, alarm bells went off in Konekomaru's mind. Really jangly, annoying bells, the kind you used when you were a really heavy sleeper and absolutely had to get up on time.

Konekomaru smiled, gathering up his stuff and making a mental note to stick his dishes in the sink on the way out, because it would just be impolite to leave the bowl and the few remaining grains of rice to get all sticky and dried-on. "Of course, Okumura-san. You didn't need to ask me. I was just on my way out anyway."

Rin beamed at his classmate, choosing not to mention that the rice bowl was still half full and knowing Konekomaru, he'd probably forgotten to eat earlier. "Thanks! You really don't have to leave, though."

"I-it's no big deal. I was just going to go to sleep anyway."

At this, Rin frowned a bit. "Hey, you know, it's not healthy to eat right before bed. You'll get nightmares!" he fussed.

Konekomaru waved him off, collecting the staff from under his seat last.

As Rin started darting around the room (no doubt to seek a less open hiding spot), he asked, "Do you take that thing everywhere?"

"Lately, yes."

Rin didn't really have an answer to that, not one that wouldn't go into subjects he _did not_ want to go into. "Well, good luck with your studying!"

Konekomaru paused on his way out of the room (via the kitchens, to drop off the dishes). "How did you know I was studying?"

Rin just looked confused. "You're Konekomaru. You always study. …Unless you're hanging out with Shima and that jerk Bon, but otherwise you're always studying."

Konekomaru decided that it would be simpler and less headache-inducing all around if he just took Okumura's latest statement at face value and got out of there before an angry and possibly sleep-deprived Okumura-sensei could arrive on the scene. He had run into a good number of demons less scary than Okumura-sensei.

And he was _not_ going to follow that thought to its logical conclusion unless he absolutely had to.

And those definitely weren't pleas for mercy he heard coming from the cafeteria.

And boy, was Konekomaru glad that he wasn't on Okumura-sensei's bad side.

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A/N: Just a bit of pointlessness, sort of cracky (except not really). Why was Rin attempting to hide from his brother in the regular boys' dorm cafeteria? I have no idea. I just felt like writing this.

If anyone is OOC, please, please tell me so. Constructive criticism would be greatly appreciated. Any review would be nice, really.


	2. Demon of Carnage

Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist.

BGM: "Crestfallen" by Avantasia.

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Demon of Carnage

Eighteen-year-old Shura straightened, forcing the manic grin back down into her belly where it waited, swallowing salt and metal slick against her lips and tongue. She flicked blood off the blade in a practiced movement (that was completely pointless, since it wasn't like the damned sword didn't drink anything it could) that Shiro had drilled into her.

She stepped over misshapen corpses, reeking ghouls and other things that might have been human, even moments ago. It wasn't that she couldn't tell the difference, just that she really didn't want to look that closely at what might have been sitting at the bar last night, telling fish stories to anyone who would listen. Honestly, she just wanted a drink or five, a half-decent meal and some sleep, in that order. Oh, and a bath to get all the gore out of her hair before it dried, that'd be nice too.

Smiling a bit at the thought (and ignoring the terrified rookie jumping away from her), she made a beeline for the medic tent. Hopefully, Shiro would be there by now (or would be as soon as he'd made sure nothing was going to get back up and ambush anyone) and he always had a little flask of something on him. Not like she was gonna be picky, and anyway, Shiro had really good taste in alcohol.

Huh. No Shiro yet. Oh, well.

Humming tunelessly, she stationed herself outside the medic tent, tapping one foot on the trampled grass. She scanned the area, looking out for threats (more out of habit than anything else), and finding nothing to worry about, settled in for a wait.

One of Shiro's typically unsubtle "suggestions" drifted across her mind.

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"_Hey, Shura!"_

"_Yeah?"_

_He held out a photograph she'd seen far too often for comfort. "You see these kids?"_

"…_Yes." The- those twins. How could she not know who they were?_

"_Great!" Shiro smiled, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "Then you won't mind keeping an eye out for Yukio-kun on his first field assignment."_

_Shura raised an eyebrow. "Field- wait, you said he was in cram school."_

"_He was," Shiro replied dryly. "Fast-tracked out. Theoretically he's already field-ready, and I'd planned on taking him along on a little demon hunt to get his feet wet. Just some low-level rot demons that needed clearing out, nothing to worry about."_

_Or that resembled human beings._

"_Unfortunately, I've been tapped for some top-secret hush-hush thing that'll probably turn out to be so much smoke and thunder, so that plan fell through." Now Shiro fell out of his usual good mood, going very quiet and serious. "The Vatican has decided that little Yukio is qualified to go on a hunt with one of the regular squads. I couldn't be prouder of the little genius."_

'_Or more terrified for him' remained unsaid._

"_Your latest squad is missing a member, right?"_

_Shura nodded. "Yeah, Sawada went and got himself stabbed in the gut our last time out. Got rushed to the hospital."_

_Shiro took a moment to think that over, and then seemingly dismissed it. "All right, then. You'll keep an eye on him?"_

"…_Fine."_

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Shaking her head, Shura blew away the mental cobwebs and figured she might as well go, since it looked like Shiro hadn't gotten out of whatever hoops the higher-ups were making him jump through this time, not yet.

Stalking through the field of dead and dying, she looked for small, dark, low to the ground and trembly. There: A child, looking even smaller than normal in a too-big black coat. No armor, despite Shiro's fussing. At his age and size, it was better to dodge than block anyway. Small meant harder to hit, but easier to break.

Shura noticed he was kneeling on the ground, wiping at his mouth with a tissue. A tissue. Seriously, what kind of little girly-boy brought tissues to a battle? There wasn't much on the ground, but the acid reek of vomit was hard to miss, especially from downwind. Either he hadn't been able to eat before the mission, or he'd thrown up earlier. Probably both.

"Oy, four-eyes!"

He stiffened and whirled, tiny pale hands tight around the barrel of a gun. His knees were shaking, eyes cold and hard slivers of malachite. Wet streaks on his cheeks and under his nose gave away how he'd been crying, just as clearly as his high raspy voice. "What do you want?"

What the fuck. He looked like a little girl playing dress-up in mommy's clothes. He even had little beauty marks, for crying out loud. "Nothing, not from you. You seen Shiro, crybaby?"

His eyes narrowed even further, but he relaxed enough to put the gun away. "No," he said petulantly. "And I am not a baby. I'm eight years old."

Her eyebrows drew together, and she stared down at him.

He flushed for no reason at all (that she could see or that he knew of) and amended that, "Technically, seven and three-quarters. What do you care, anyway?"

"Hey," she said, walking right up to him and picking the kid up by his collar. He yelped, but she ignored that. "Shiro is a damn good exorcist, and any news of him is good news, even if it's from a scaredy-cat like you."

"I am not a scaredy-cat," he said quietly.

She snorted. "Right, and I'm the Tooth Fairy. Whatever. If you don't need my help, then just stay here and rot in your own puke."

With that, she dumped him on the ground.

He scrambled to his feet (good recovery, but he shouldn't have let me grab him in the first place) and spluttered, "I never asked for any help! More to the point, you didn't offer any in the first place."

"I just did."

Giving a last glance at the pathetic, trembling child (little monster, really, but Shiro was just too nice for his own good; she knew that better than anyone), Shura turned on her heel and walked away.

She really needed a freaking drink.

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A/N: Because Yukio is a rather messed-up kid, and Shura doesn't want to share father figures. Inspired by the works of sarsaparillia, who introduced me to the Yukio/Shura ship. (Which doesn't exactly show up here as he's a kid, but interaction anyway.) And before anyone goes crying OOC, please remember that we've only seen how Yukio the 15-year-old veteran deals with battle in the main storyline. He doesn't strike me as someone okay with people seeing him vulnerable.

Please read and review.


	3. Settling

Disclaimer: I don't own Blue Exorcist.

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Settling

Yukio put the pen down and massaged his aching hand for a moment. Quietly, efficiently, as he performed even the smallest tasks, he pushed his chair out, rose, and replaced it precisely where it had been at 18:26, when he'd sat down to go through the last several days' worth of paperwork. One thing new exorcists weren't told about extended missions, aside from the obvious "don't be that idiot who forgets to bring toilet paper", was the inevitable paperwork backlog not only from the mission itself, but from every random thing that appeared in one's inbox as soon as one took their eyes off it.

Yukio shut his eyes rubbed the bridge of his nose in an effort to stave off his slowly building headache, automatically readjusting his glasses. Squinting, he closed one eye, then the other. Sure enough, his vision was noticeably blurrier in his left eye. It was past time for a new prescription.

Throwing a quick glance upwards and a cold glare vaguely "down", he stalked out of his and Rin's shared dorm room, slippers throwing up tiny clouds of dust where he walked. He passed the recently cleaned and restocked cafeteria which, for the last several days, had sported a sheet of paper clumsily taped to the door that said in scrawled hiragana "Rin's Kitchen, Friends Welcome, Uninvited Guests Not Welcome, That Means You Mephisto". Yukio's lip quirked in an amused half-smile. As much of a walking headache as his brother could be simply by existing, at least he had the sense to distrust the shady headmaster.

The smile evaporated in the wake of the memory of what he had found when he'd returned to the all-but-abandoned dormitory, anxious to get clean before Rin broke off his latest altercation with Suguro Ryuuji, got back and used up all five minutes' worth of hot water in their cruddy building.

A beautifully scripted letter in purple ink on heavy cream stationery in a pale purple envelope had been sitting right on his desk where his idiot brother could have seen it. Another blasted summons, as though he were nothing more than a dog to be called to heel, a trained attack dog that could be ordered to "eliminate" his own brother at any time. Unconsciously, Yukio clenched his jaw in anger, fists clenched tight against his sides. He took in a breath, held it, and let it out slowly, feeling his muscles relax, but the underlying tension and sheer impotent rage bubbling just under the surface only grew.

Glaring at the name scrawled in Rin's childish hand, Yukio started going through Psalms in his mind. Even if he didn't hold a Tamer specialization, there was always the possibility that one or more of his teammates would be incapacitated or killed, and that risk only grew with a group of foolish, young, inexperienced, _naïve_ exwires.

Yukio stood up a little straighter, careful not to move his head. He'd have to take something for the headache if he wanted to sleep tonight.

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A/N: Just a pointless shortfic. Yukio is so snarky.


	4. Passage

Disclaimer: I don't own BE.

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Passage

Two children stand opposed, one a none-too-holy monk and the other a puppeteer, their prize a shrine maiden in serving girl's costume.

Now, what might the little liar's friends think of this?

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_Classmates_

"What do you think you're doing with Kamiki?!"

Rage – his first reaction to any threat. She's alive, which is good because he doesn't want to know what he'd do if she wasn't, but this is all wrong. Weird puppet kid is standing there, only the puppet is talking; what the hell. And Shima – weren't they friends? He screams, hoarse with pain.

"What is wrong with you?!"

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_Requirements_

"…Shima-kun?"

Tremulous. Timid. It's as though time has been turned back, for strong sharp Izumo-chan is silent and still, and Shima-kun is so cold. And those black flames…

"Nii-chan!"

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_Kids_

"Goddamnit."

Gruff curses, a dull glare, anger born of disappointment for once again, she's been stupid enough to start giving a shit about some pathetic random exorcist, the sort of naïve little idiot that goes out and gets killed on his first real mission. She should have seen the signs when he walked away from the Impure King's resurrection with barely a scratch. No one hides skill like this without a good reason to hide. It's going to be at least a four-bottle night, once all this is over.

"You even gonna try to explain yourself, pinky? Believe me, you don't want the higher-ups asking you questions. Oi, and you! Takara, or whatever the fuck your name is, don't even think of vanishing on me!"

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_Burdens_

"What have you done?"

Lies – his first companions, steady counterweights to his wavering will. He had been concerned about "Yamada", and rightly so. He had been curious regarding Takara, who seemed to sleepwalk through life, and now it seemed that that was quite literally the case. Just what had he stumbled into? He had kept a close eye on all of his students, all for different reasons – Rin's hidden power and instability, Shiemi's gentleness and ignorance of war, Suguro's family name and ridiculous ambitions, even Miwa's quiet competence and keen intelligence. Shima had been the last one he would have suspected major trouble from, childish skirt-chaser that he was. He should have known; he should have realized that he wasn't the only liar in the classroom, orders aside.

"Shima Renzou, you will return with me to Asian Branch Headquarters, if I have to take you all in by force."

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_Right Hand_

"Wha-what the hell?"

A stark light is cast, illuminating a friend's falsehoods from within. A thousand questions trip over each other, so only the last and least comes through. Shock, disbelief – there is no anger, not yet. There will be, and pain in greater measure.

"Shima! What the hell's going on here? Say something already!"

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_Brother in Arms_

"Why?"

A whispered word, as pointless as it is necessary. He knows before he speaks that he will receive no answer save the usual false words, empty of meaning. He is all too aware of what is happening and that it cannot be stopped, that the house of cards is falling in a cascade of black, red, white. He just wishes that if it had to happen, that it would have been someone else's old friend.

"I wish I could say I'm sorry, but I am a loyal True Cross exorcist and a student of Myou-ou Dharani. Mostly, though, I'm Bon's friend, and I thought you were too. …Please don't die, Shima-san."

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These are but idle ramblings, of course. Any fool could see the tragic inevitability of it all. The Order will find them first.

Of course.

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A/N: Please read and review, constructive criticism doubly appreciated.


	5. Nighttime Wandering

Disclaimer: I don't own BE.

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Nighttime Wandering

Rin wakes up at four in the morning, too early to be awake and way too late to even try to sleep.

He stifles a moan of complaint, kicking away the tangled sweat-soaked sheets and tip-toeing out of the room. A few seconds fiddling with the lock, a step up and he's outside, the cool night air carrying his fears away. He grins, sharp and white and playful. Rin has never feared the dark.

Then he pauses, considering the distance. It'd be easier to go down, but he really doesn't want to, so Rin climbs, clinging to windowsills and minute cracks and gaps in the walls. All that evasion and survival training had to be good for something.

He reaches, swings up and onto the roof, a night chorus of birds and beasts echoing over the campus. Even in the depths of a city, there is nature, if you know how to look. It's kind of a shame – if it weren't stupidly late at night, he could have just gone to look for Shiemi-chan's garden. It couldn't be that hard to find, considering it and the neighboring supply shop are the only really green places in the school. There're the odd patches of grass and trees and maybe a few flowers scattered around, but they're not the same. Maybe it's strange to think so, considering he's lived in a city for most of his life, but it's not worth wondering why.

He shrugs to himself, feeling rough roof tiles slide under his feet. Rin starts, realizing he hadn't even stopped to grab shoes. It's not like he needs them – he's spent enough time up on this darn roof to know it backwards and forwards by now – but it's still weird, being barefoot outside. It wasn't like he'd ever liked shoes, really. The stupid things were so annoying; they pinched and rubbed blisters when they were new and pinched and flopped and looked like crap when they were old, and the way he went through them he really only got a few months' use out of each pair. It's not like it was his fault he didn't like sitting still. Oh, and the old man would always get on his case about how expensive it could get to buy new shoes, and how on Earth had he managed to rip a hole in a brand-new pair, and he was paying back every cent of the cost in hard labor, now get that broom and clean up this mess!

…Damn it. Something in his stupid eyes.

Rin shakes his head from side to side, looking for something, anything to distract himself with. In the end, he settles on "up". He didn't know much about the stars, just that they were really big, really hot glowing things that were really far away, like suns, and that was pretty much it. The moon was simpler, just a big old round rock floating around the earth, bright and white and coloring everything in blue and silver. It's pretty, he thinks very quietly, because guys aren't supposed to think things like "the moonlight is pretty", not unless they're lame girly-boy artsy types, or maybe just weird like Shima.

Crap. Not thinking about Shima. Not, not, not…

He growls, turns and jumps off the roof, lands on an outbuilding with a slight hiss of surprise. He hadn't planned that, but whatever, he was fine. He looks around, his usual look of slight surprise firmly on his face. He hasn't been here before. He thinks the building is some kind of tool shed, but the roof is pretty sturdy. Good thing, too.

He shrugs again and flops down on the edge of the roof, dangling his feet over the side. Letting out a sigh, he wonders why the birds have stopped singing. Not because he's some lame poet or something, it's just weird! They were so loud a few minutes ago, and now they're gone, that or so still and quiet they might as well be. Rin wonders why he's angry. It's not like it matters what a bunch of loud-ass little birds do anyway.

He huffs and slides off the roof, finding himself on the ground, hard-packed dirt strewn with rocks. He glares at nothing in particular. Stupid headmaster and his stupid weird plans. Why the heck do he and Yukio have to live in that crap-hole of a building anyway? It's nowhere near any of their classes. Okay, so they can still get to cram school from the building, but that's true all over the school. He'd have just as much luck sleeping in a freaking hallway, and it would probably be less drafty.

Weird-ass school.

Rin sighs. He doesn't really feel that much better than he did when he sneaked out, even if he at least feels a different kind of lousy.

Then he's hopping in place, a furry clamp gripping his worn sleep shirt, tiny claws pricking through the fabric and a glowing glare right next to his face.

"Gah, Kuro!" he yelps, and the silence is shattered with all the subtlety of a ten-ton sack of bricks.

_Rin! You left._

"So?" he sputters, peeling the indignant feline off of his chest. "What's the big deal? I go off by myself all the time."

_You didn't tell me you were going._

And Rin being Rin, he sees through the demon-kitty snit-fit in a heartbeat. "Aw, crap. Kuro, buddy, I'm really sorry."

_You'd better be_, the cait sith accuses.

Rin winces, embarrassed. "I'll warn you next time I randomly go exploring, okay?"

They stay in silence for a moment, Kuro's tails twitching as he settles into Rin's arms. _You could get lost, and I don't want that._

"Well, I won't, so stop worrying," Rin says, and that is that. At least for a few seconds. Maybe. Cats aren't really known for taking orders, and even if Kuro isn't a normal cat…

_When you stop being in trouble._

Rin laughs softly. "That'll be the day."

_What day? _Kuro asks innocently.

Rin doesn't answer, just turns back to the dorm and looks up at the room he shares with Yukio.

"Hey, Kuro?"

The cat blinks up at him.

"Is it weird that one of my best friends is a talking demon cat?"

_Nope_, he answers cheerily. Then Kuro lit up like a Christmas tree. _Best friends?_

"Well, yeah," Rin says matter-of-factly. "You're my buddy, and my familiar."

Clambering up to his usual perch on Rin's head, Kuro replies in an even more self-satisfied tone than usual, _Rin says so!_

"…Whatever you say, Kuro."

Rin blinks, eyes sliding almost closed. What do you know, he might be able to catch a nap before Yukio kicks him out of bed after all.

Rin grins, sharp white and happy, and sets off to try to sneak back into his dorm room. He almost makes it, even remembering to step over the tripwire Yukio set for whatever crazy Yukio-reason, but gets tripped up by a pile of _Shonen Jump_ magazines on the floor.

The next thing he hears is an aggravated "Nii-san!", and Rin starts looking for an escape route.

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A/N: Edited somewhat by Love Psycho.

Please read and review.


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